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THE LIBRARY OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF

NORTH CAROLINA

AT CHAPEL HILL

THE COLLECTION OF
NORTH CAROLINIANA

C705

E12

4-6 & index

1978-80

UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL

00034012229

FOR USE ONLY IN
IE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION

:'«'.*.••■

EARLY SOUTHERN
DECORATIVE ARTS

MESDA ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS

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# * #i

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JOURNAL
of

EARLY SOUTHERN

DECORATIVE ARTS

May, 1979

Volume V, Number 1

Published twice yearly in

May and November by

The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE

Dorothy Welker, Chairman
Frances Griffin
Bradford Rauschenberg

Printed by Hall Printing Company
High Point, North Carolina

Contents

John Shearer, Joiner of Martinsburgh 1

John J. Snyder, Jr.

A School of Charleston, South Carolina

Brass Andirons: 1 780- 1815 26

Bradford L. Rauschenberg

Members ofMesda 76

Figure 1.

John Shearer, Joiner of Martins burgh

John J. Snyder, Jr.

Before the appearance of the signed John Shearer desk-and-
bookcase at auction in New York in February, 1978, the name of
this West Virginia cabinetmaker was not generally known to
students of American furniture (Fig. I).1 However, for fifty
years his name has been known to a handful of people. In 1929,
Edward Knedle, an early dealer in Hagerstown, Maryland, in-
formed the owners of the desk-and-bookcase now in the collec-
tion of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts that he
knew about "three of these desks" made by a 'John Sharon"
[sic] of Martinsburg, West Virginia.2 In 1970, the writer
discovered a signed John Shearer chest of five tiers of drawers
(Fig. 2) and commenced research on the often elusive John
Shearer. Today, seven pieces of furniture may be credited
securely to John Shearer. This body of work constitutes the
largest group of documented Chippendale furniture that can be
credited definitely to any Southern cabinetmaker, with the ex-
ception of the numerous pieces bearing the label of John Shaw

Figure 1. Desk-and-bookcase signed by John Shearer of Martinsburg, West
Virginia. Numerous inscriptions on the desk section indicate that it was made
by John Shearer in Martinsburg in August and September, 1801. The exterior
back of the bookcase section is signed "By / Shearer y Joiner 7 1806. " For its
scale, complexity of design, and lavish ornamentation, this piece may be
regarded as Shearers masterpiece. 106" HO A, 41" WO A, 24 V2 "DO A.
Walnut and cherry primary woods; yellow pine and oak secondary woods. Col-
lection of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts. MESDA research file
2979.

of Annapolis, Maryland. Further, John Shearer is one of the few
Shenandoah Valley cabinetmakers whose works have been iden-
tified. This study seeks to establish a groundwork for further
research on John Shearer and his furniture.

Photograph by J. P. Herr.

Figure 2. Chest of drawers signed at least fourteen times by John Shearer of
Martinsburg and dated 1804. The ogee bracket feet are a conjectural restora-
tion. The brasses are a replacement, and although those on the top two tiers of
drawers occupy the original positions, plugged holes on the bottom three
drawers indicate a different original placement there. Tack marks between the
cornice and the top tier of drawers may indicate the presence of a now-lost or-
namental frieze. Walnut primary wood; yellow pine and poplar secondary
woods. 53V2" HOA, 43 3/8" WOA, 24" DOA. Private collection.

The initial evidence for identifying John Shearer as maker is
presented in the numerous inscriptions that he placed on in-
terior surfaces, back boards, and inlays. Six of the seven Shearer
pieces illustrated here retain legible inscriptions. In fact, the
desk and bookcase (Fig. 1) is signed at least twenty times,3 and
the chest with five tiers of drawers is signed at least fourteen
times (Fig. 2).4 The desk with an armorial type of inlay is signed
at least nine times.5 The serpentine-front low chest of drawers is
signed twice (Fig. 3), and each of the pier tables is signed once.
The majority of these inscriptions are written in red crayon, and

Photograph reproduced from Antiques, January 196}, p. 64.

Figure 3- Chippendale chest of drawers signed twice by John Shearer of Mar-
tins burg and dated 1800. Walnut primary wood; yellow pine secondary wood.
37" HO A, 38" WO A, 22 V2 "DO A. Private collection.

a few are written in pencil. Only the walnut pier table made for
Elizabeth Filler is signed in an inlaid medallion (Figs. 6 and 9).
Representative of the script and wording of the crayon, pencil,
and incised inscriptions are the lines "made by me, John
Shearer Sebtr 1801 from Edinburgh 1775 /Made in Mar-
tinsburgh' ' that appear on the back of a drawer of the desk and
bookcase in the collection of the Museum of Early Southern
Decorative Arts (Fig. 8).

Three of the inscribed pieces bear dates. In addition to the
writing cited above, the desk section of the desk-and-bookcase
bears two other inscriptions dated with both month and year,
one reading " Made /by/ Shearer /Aug1- 1801" and another
reading "Made by Shearer Nov. 180-." Thus, the desk section
of this piece may be dated between August and November,
1801. On the back of the bookcase section of this desk-and-
bookcase appears the pencil inscription "By /Shearer /Joiner/
1806," written upside down. It is interesting to note that the
bookcase section was fabricated about five years after the desk.
The chest of five tiers of drawers is dated 1804 three times (Fig.
2). A red crayon inscription within the side of the low chest of
drawers dates it 1800 (Fig. 3).

It is also noteworthy that the three signed and dated pieces
also give the place of manufacture as "Martinsburgh." This
follows the old spelling for the town that always has been the
seat of Berkeley County.6 Martinsburg is noted three times in
writing on the desk section of the desk-and-bookcase (Fig. 1),
three times in inscriptions on the chest of five tiers of drawers
(Fig. 2), and once on the low chest of drawers (Fig. 3).7 The
other four Shearer pieces bear no notations identifying the place
where they were produced.

Five of these signed pieces bear inscriptions identifying John
Shearer as being ' 'From Edinburgh. ' ' This appears five times on
the desk-and-bookcase (Figs. 1 and 8), twice on the chest of five
tiers of drawers (Fig. 2), twice on the desk with an armorial type
of inlay on the fall lid (Fig. 4), once in the pencil inscription on
the underside of the top of the cherry and mahogany pier table
(Fig. 7), and once, although abbreviated "Ednboro," on the in-
lay of the Elizabeth Filler pier table (Fig! 6). The inscriptions on
both the desk-and-bookcase and the chest of five tiers of drawers
further identify Shearer as being "From Edinburgh — 1775."
The interpretation that these inscriptions place Shearer's origins
in the small town of Edinburgh on Stony Creek in Shenandoah

County, Virginia, is weakened by the fact that the town was fre-
quently known by another name.8 Thus, it is more likely that
Edinburgh refers to an origin in Scotland.

Two of the Shearer pieces discussed here bear writing in-
dicating the maker's Tory sympathies. On the interior back of a
shell-carved drawer of the interior of the desk-and-bookcase is

Figure 4. Desk signed repeatedly by Shearer, including "By Shearer [sic] /Join-
er/From Edinburgh ' ' on the underside of the writing surface. Apparently, the
inscriptions are undated. The interpretation of the inscriptions on the inlays is
discussed in the text of this article. Walnut, oak, birch, and lightwood inlays
constitute the primary woods; the secondary woods are oak, walnut, yellow
pine, and poplar. 46" HOA, 38V4 " WOA, 22 5/8" DOA. Private collection.
MESDA research file 8689.

written "God Save the King 1801" (Fig. 1). The chest of five
tiers of drawers bears more numerous Tory inscriptions, in-
cluding "God Save the King /By Me /John Shearer" written
beneath the top, and "From a Tory /Vive le Roy/ 1804 /God
Save the King /by me John Shearer" written on the interior of
the second drawer from the bottom. Possibly the inlay on the
fall lid of the desk (Fig. 4) pictorially expresses the same sen-
timents, for the crowned lion rampant is an obvious British sym-
bol. Even the motto "Victory Be Thine" incised above the lion
may emphasize the "tory" in the last four letters of the word
"Victory." It is believed that these are the only known pieces of
American furniture bearing pro-Tory inscriptions or symbols.

Photograph courtesy of the owner.

Figure 5. Desk apparently unsigned, here attributed to John Shearer, c.
1800-1806. In form, ornament, and all structural details, this desk is very
closely related to the desk section of the desk- and- bookcase illustrated in
Figure 1. It is possible that inscriptions on interior surfaces may have been
obliterated by the varnish that covers the drawer interiors. Cherry and
lightwood inlays constitute the primary woods; the secondary wood is yellow
pine. 48" HO A, 44" WO A, 22" DOA. Private collection.

The histories of these pieces complement and strengthen the
evidence supplied by the inscriptions. Three of the seven
Shearer pieces are without any information about early or
original ownership. The desk attributed to John Shearer on
stylistic and structural grounds (Fig. 5) can be traced only to re-
cent ownership in California collections. The cherry and
mahogany pier table (Fig. 7) formerly was in the collection of
the late Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, but its inscription passed
unrecognized in the catalogue of the Dodge sale. The low chest
of drawers (Fig. 3) first appeared in January, 1965, when adver-
tised by a Massachusetts dealer in Antiques.

Fortunately, the provenances of the other Shearer works pre-
sent more explicit historical information. The desk-and-
bookcase (Fig. 1) has three inscriptions that identify the original
owner. Written in pencil on the back of the large central drawer
is "By Shearer to Mr. Pendleton/ 1801"; on the underside of
the writing surface appears "Shearer for Even' ' ; and on the back
of the desk section an inscription in black paint that reads "E.
Pendleton /Winchester." Thus it is evident that the desk-and-
bookcase was made for an Evan (or Even) Pendleton in Win-
chester, Virginia. This prominent Shenandoah Valley center is
located about twenty miles southwest of Martinsburg. Although
this Mr. Pendleton almost certainly was a member of a large and
prominent Virginia family, his precise identity has yet to be
established.

The straight-front chest of five tiers of drawers (Fig. 2) was
purchased in Martinsburg by a dealer about 1962 or 1963; it had
descended in a family of that locale for at least four
generations.9 As will be noted later, there is intriguing cir-
cumstantial evidence that this chest of drawers may have been
owned by John Shearer.

The walnut pier table (Fig. 6) has two inlaid and inscribed
medallions that identify both the maker and the original owner,
one Elizabeth Filler. Possibly the wording "Miss Elizabeth
Filler /Fame to Virtu" may be construed as a personal compli-
ment from the cabinetmaker, in addition to being a mark of
ownership. This table descended through generations of the
Mann family of the Lovettsville area in Loudon County,
Virginia; a Filler family also lived in this vicinity.10 It may be
noted that Lovettsville is located about twenty-five miles
southeast of Martinsburg.

Figure 6. Serpentine -front pier table with two inscribed, inlaid medallions,
one stating "By Shearer of Ed*1 boro — Fame To Mars" and the other reading
"Miss Elizabeth Filler — Fame to Virtue. " This table probably dates c. 1800.
Walnut primary wood; there are no secondary woods. 29" HO A, 38 5 1 16"
WOA, 18" DOA. Private collection. MESDA research file 7359.

Presenting a complex and rather problematical provenance is
the desk with an armorial type of inlay on the fall lid (Fig. 4).
Once in the collection of William Randolph Hearst, this desk
was sold in New York from that collection in November, 1938.
The sale catalogue stated that the desk had been found in
Philadelphia in the late 1870s by Dr. William Kent Gilbert's
sister; it had previously belonged to some "colored servants who
had received it from the Washingtons."11 This desk has two in-
scribed inlays that would seem to identify its early or original
ownership. Incised on an inlaid panel on the top drawer are the
lines "Presented by / Rorbert Mc Farland' ' [sic] . Beneath the oval
with lion rampant on the fall lid is an eagle- inlaid shield with a
dependent curved panel inscribed "John Custis." The transi-
tional Chippendale-Federal style of the desk precludes even the
possibility that it was made for John Custis, the father of Daniel
Parke Custis, who was Martha Washington's first husband. In-
deed, the desk seems to date later than the lifespan of Martha

Photograph by J. P. Hen.

Figure 7. Serpentine-front pier table inscribed in pencil beneath the top "John
Shearer /Joiner From I 'Edinburgh. " This table probably dates c. 1800. The legs
are mahogany, and the top and skirt are cherry; there are no secondary woods.
30 1/16" HOA, 32V4 " WOA, 17 118" DOA. —Private collection.

Washington's son, John Parke Custis. Further, the inlay tech-
niques, color, and lettering on the eagle shield and the "John
Custis" panel differ from all other inlays on the desk, sug-
gesting that they might be a later addition. Indeed, an inlaid
loop at the base of the oval inlaid with the lion rampant implies
the existence of an earlier inlay that was removed and replaced
by the shield with eagle and the "John Custis" panel.12 Several
candidates could be identified as the Robert McFarland who
evidently gave the desk as a gift; he might be the Robert
McFarland who moved from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to
Bedford County, Virginia, about 1757, or a member of his fami-
ly.13 Another prominent McFarland family, intermarried with
the Lewis family, lived in the vicinity of Staunton, Virginia, in

the last quarter of the eighteenth century.14 Obviously, this desk
presents many yet unanswered questions.

In total, the inscriptions and histories of the John Shearer
pieces already give some of the basic biographical information
about the cabinetmaker. Evidently he was an adult working in
or near Martinsburg, West Virginia, between 1800 and 1806.
The general transitional Chippendale-to-Federal style of most of
the pieces implies that the broader span of his working period
might be about 1790 to 1810. Although Shearer's orientation
appears to have been in the Martinsburg region, his clients lived
as far away as Winchester, Virginia, and Loudon County,
Virginia. Most surprising, the inscriptions leave no doubt that
Shearer harbored strong, but secretive, Tory political feelings.

As Shearer had been hitherto overlooked in published
references on American cabinetmakers, so, too, he was notable
only in his absence from the published histories of Berkeley
County, West Virginia. His name was never mentioned in late
eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century newspapers from the
Martinsburg area. None of the local historians in Martinsburg
had ever heard of John Shearer, and the family name has now
disappeared from Berkeley County. However, research in
primary sources, plus the recent discovery of a collateral descen-
dant of John Shearer living in Texas, have securely identified
John Shearer (1765-1810) as the son of Archibald and Sarah
Shearer, who lived at Falling Waters on the Potomac, north of
Martinsburg.

According to long-standing tradition in the line of Ar-
chibald Shearer's son, Thomas, the family left Scotland and set-
tled in Berkeley County (then part of Frederick County) shortly
before the beginning of the Revolutionary War.15 Archibald
Shearer (1732-1800) may have been the son of a John Shearer
who died in Berkeley County about 1777. l6 He married Sarah
Prather (1739-1805), and had a family numbering at least four-
teen children.17 Archibald Shearer owned a total of several thou-
sand acres of land in both Berkeley County, Virginia, and
Washington County, Maryland; he kept his residence at Falling
Waters on the Potomac, where he owned mills and a distillery.
Evidently he was a Presbyterian, for he and most of his family
were buried in the now-abandoned Presbyterian graveyard near
Falling Waters. In the last quarter of the eighteenth century, he
appears to have been one of the richest inhabitants of Berkeley
County, although he never held public office after the Revolu-

tion. In his will, made January 31, 1800, he designated his son
John as one of the two executors of his estate and left to him "all
that tract of land in Maryland which I purchased of Jack, Ross &
Ringgold with its appurtenances." Archibald Shearer's estate
inventory, taken April 25, 1800, included some relatively ex-
pensive furniture and twelve slaves with a total value of £1325. 18

Aged about thirty-five at the time of his father's death, John
Shearer probably moved to the lands which his father had pur-
chased as early as 1778 in Washington County, Maryland.19 The
tracts, known as 'Jack's Bottom" and "Additions to Jack's Bot-
tom," were located along the Potomac River, near Williams-
port, Maryland. It is likely that John Shearer married his wife,
Mary Ann, some time between 1800 and 1805. However, he
evidently maintained close ties on the south side of the Potomac
River, for he was taxed on land in Berkeley County in 1802, and
was involved in the settlement of his mother's estate in 1805. 20

On January 2, 1810, John Shearer made his will in Wash-
ington County. He mentioned no trade, and left all his estate to
his wife and his only son, Henry, then a minor. The wording of
the will indicates that Shearer was seriously ill; he did not long
survive, for letters to his estate were issued on March 9, 1810.21
The inventory of his estate, taken March 29, 1810, listed no
joiner's tools and very few farming implements; it provided a
few signs of material well-being, including six silver table-
spoons, twelve silver teaspoons, and two pairs of silver sugar
tongs.22 Possibly Shearer had retired to live from the income of
his inherited lands. A reference in his estate account of
November 24, 1811, to "Shop rent" at least implies an earlier
period of activity.23

John Shearer's only son, Henry, died as a minor some time
before August 30, 1824. His widow died shortly before March
22, 1825, having made a will on November 19, 1824. In this
document, she left to "Martha Ross a woman of couler" the
"Beurau which is now at the widow Jacobs Friends and also the
bedstead."24 It is intriguing to associate this "Beurau" in-
herited by "a woman of couler" in 1825 with the chest of five
tiers of drawers (Fig. 2), which was owned by a black family
named Fox in the Martinsburg area for at least four generations.
This is the sole item having even a plausible argument to be
considered as one of John Shearer's possessions.

Many factors support the identification of this John Shearer
(1765-1810) as the cabinetmaker. He is the only "John

Shearer" who can be placed in the Martinsburg area between
1790 and 1810. Although he is never termed a joiner or cabinet-
maker on any extant tax lists from Berkeley County in the period
between 1790 and 1810, it appears that these lists generally did
not mention trades. Unfortunately, no tax lists from
Washington County, Maryland, dating between 1800 and 1810
are known to survive. John Shearer's signature on furniture,
whether written on interior surfaces or incised in inlay (Figs. 8

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Figure 8. Detail of inscription on the back of a drawer of the desk-and-
bookcase illustrated in Figure 1 .

Figure 9- Detail of the Shearer inscription incised on the inlay of the pier table
illustrated in Figure 6.

and 9) is consistent. Comparison of these signatures to that on
the 1810 will (Fig. 10) reveals some generalized similarities but
betrays a less precise hand in the will. However, since Shearer
evidently signed the will on his deathbed, a faltering hand can
be expected. The inscriptions reading, "From Edin-
burgh— 1775" may be interpreted to mean that Sarah Shearer
and her children came to America several years after the arrival
of Archibald Shearer; this pattern of settlement can be traced in
many American families. Finally, it is John Shearer's statement

of Tory allegiance that clinches the identification. There remains
in the vicinity of Falling Waters a strong tradition that the
Archibald Shearer family held a secret loyalty to the crown, and
this fact is confirmed in the unpublished Shearer family
genealogy.25

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F/g#re /0. 7#* signature on the will made by John Shearer in Washington
County, Maryland, on January 2, 1810. Reproduced from the original will at
the Hall of Records, Annapolis, Maryland.

Stylistic analysis of the Shearer pieces may be divided into
considerations of general style, form, ornament, and design
sources. An overview of these works places the majority in an in-
dividualistic transitional Chippendale-to-Federal style. Only the
low chest of drawers (Fig. 3) has no Federal influence. On the
two pier tables, the new Federal style has influenced the form
through the use of the tapered legs terminating in tall spade feet
(Figs. 6 and 7). On the other pieces, the overall form remains in
the Chippendale style, while the ornament reveals the influence
of the Federal style. Carved swags of drapery on the capitals of
the quarter columns of the chest with five tiers of drawers
bespeak the influence of neoclassicism (Fig. 2), as they also do
on the attributed desk (Fig. 5). Otherwise, the neoclassical in-
fluence is evident in the inlays of swags, pendant bellflowers,
medallions, and thin, wavy lines (Figs. 1, 4, 5, 6, and 20).

A general stylistic peculiarity that seems to mark the Shearer
pieces is the unusual placement of hardware. Notable is the ver-
tical placement of the brasses on both the desk-and-bookcase
(Fig. 1) and the desk with the armorial type of inlay on the fall
lid (Fig. 4). On the low chest of drawers (Fig. 3) the hardware is
set near the sides of the drawers, and this placement was utilized
originally on the three large drawers of the chest with five tiers
of drawers (Fig. 2).

Another unusual stylistic quality of the Shearer furniture ap-
pears in the completely finished and scalloped backboards of the
two pier tables (Figs. 14 and 15). Although the shaping is dif-
ferent on the two illustrated examples, the use of repeated
C-shaped curves is similar. Perhaps this treatment indicates that
these tables were intended to serve secondary functions as free-
standing furniture.

In basic form, all but one of the Shearer pieces repeat the
same serpentine-front with squared or blocked corners; only the
chest with five tiers of drawers has a plain straight front. This
serpentine form always terminated in paired concavities on
the top drawer; hence the likeness to blockfront furniture is
increased. Where the serpentine-front pieces employ an ogee
bracket foot (Figs. 3 and 4), the base molding is omitted from
the central, serpentine section; thus, the vertical unity of the
foot and the blocked corner section is strengthened. On the two
pieces with claw-and-ball feet (Figs. 1, 5, and 16) a more
decorative and sculptural effect is achieved.

Ornament on the Shearer furniture is both carved and in-
laid. The carving on the capitals of quarter columns (Fig. 18) ap-
pears on two pieces (Figs. 2 and 5). The chevron design that or-
naments the base sections of the quarter columns of the chest
with five tiers of drawers (Fig. 19) may be similar to gouge carv-
ing found on Federal period woodwork in Pennsylvania,
Maryland, and the Shenandoah Valley. A favored carved motif
is the pierced quatrefoil that ornaments the fronts of the pier
tables (Figs. 6 and 7), and the pull-out supports for the fall lids
of the desk-and-bookcase and the desk with the armorial type of
inlay on the fall lid (Fig. 17). Of architectural inspiration is the
very bold egg-and-dart molding which constitutes part of the
cornice of the desk-and-bookcase (Fig. 1). More whimsical is the
central carved anchor motif on this molding, the pierced tym-
panum of the pediment, and the unusual carved side finials.
Bold carving typifies the execution of the claw-and-ball feet
which support the desk-and-bookcase and the attributed desk
(Fig. 16); the stylized shell-like devices on the heavy knees of
these feet are noteworthy.

Inlays adorn four of Shearer's works; the favored surfaces for
this form of ornamentation are the fall lids of the desks (Fig.
20). With slight variations, all three fall lids bear similar designs
of inlaid swags of drapery with heavy pendant bellflowers.
Chain-like formations and inlaid wavy lines frequently appear.

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Figure 11. Interior of the desk section of the desk-and- bookcase illustrated in
Figure 1.

Figure 12. Interior of the desk illustrated in Figure 4.

Figure 13- Interior of the desk illustrated in Figure J.

Shearer's practice of incising his name and inscriptions on inlaid
panels or medallions is unusual. As was noted before, the
crowned lion inlaid on the desk (Fig. 4) again bespeaks Tory
orientation. The motif of the inlaid mask appears three times on
the desk with the armorial type of inlay on the fall lid (Fig. 4)
and is related to the winged faces that ornament the medallions
on the skirt of the Elizabeth Filler pier table (Fig. 9).26

Through the combined use of carving, inlays, and multi-
colored woods, Shearer created elaborate and complex desk in-
teriors. The finest of all his desk interiors is that of the desk-and-
bookcase (Fig. 11), which boasts a combination of shell-carved
niches, a large top drawer ornamented with two carved convex
shells, fluted pilasters, step-fluted sliding tambours, and col-
ored oval paterae. Particularly notable are the architectural
details, including the simulated voussoirs with keystones that
enframe the two lateral drawers with concave shell carving; the
small console brackets beneath these drawers, and the simulated
masonry enframing the concavities of the drawers beneath the
pigeonholes complement this theme. Although different in
total design, the interior of the attributed desk (Fig. 13) repeats
these simulated voussoirs with central keystones. Here the six

Figure 14. Back of the pier table made for Elizabeth Filler illustrated in Figure
6.

Figure 15. Back of (be pier table illustrated in Figure 7.

pigeonholes are crowned with small drawers, each bearing a con-
cave carved shell. The combination of fluted pilasters, tam-
bours, and engaged fluted columns accentuates the other details
of architectural inspiration. Without inlays, the interior of the
desk with the armorial type of decoration on the fall lid achieves
variety in color by means of a combination of natural birch and
ebonized oak (Fig. 12). The central convex shell crowns a
removable section whose bowed front is embellished with
reeding. Unusual features include the Gothic arches and the
vertical depressions in drawers which serve in the place of
applied hardware.

Apparently Shearer drew his inspiration not from printed
sources but rather from acquaintance with other pieces of fur-
niture. The stylistic attributes of the seven pieces discussed here
suggest that cabinetwork from three areas influenced Shearer:
Virginia, inland Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. The orna-
mented quarter-columns relate to other cabinetwork from the

Figure 16. Detail of claw-and-ball foot on the desk section of the desk-and-
bookcase illustrated in Figure 1 .

Figure 17. Detail of the pierced pull-out support for the fall lid of the desk-
and- bookcase illustrated in Figure 1.

area of Winchester, Virginia (Figs. 18 and 19). In form, the old
claw-and-ball feet may be likened to those encountered on
mid-eighteenth-century furniture from Williamsburg, Virginia.
Gothic elements, as seen in the desk interior, also have parallels
in Williamsburg cabinetwork.27

In both scale and drawer arrangement, the chest with five
tiers of drawers is reminiscent of furniture from the counties of
inland Pennsylvania (Fig. 2). Also akin to Pennsylvania cabinet-
work is the form of the ogee bracket feet (Figs. 3,4). The coun-

Figure 18. (Left) Detail of the carved capital of a quarter column on the chest
of drawers illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 19. (Right) Detail of the base section of a quarter column on the chest
of drawers illustrated in Figure 2.

ties of Chester, Lancaster, and Cumberland in Pennsylvania ex-
erted considerable influence on the culture of the Shenandoah
Valley.

Quite unexpected is the apparent influence of Rhode Island
furniture evident in most of the Shearer pieces. The serpentine-

Figure 20. Detail of the inlaid fall lid of the desk section of the desk-and-
bookcase illustrated in Figure 1.

front form with blocked corners, and even the position of shells
on desk interiors, are reminiscent of blockfront pieces from
Rhode Island and New London County, Connecticut.28 Indeed,
the form of the two Shearer pier tables, with serpentine curve to
the skirt, frame, and top, and with blocked corners, is found
elsewhere in American furniture only in card tables usually at-
tributed to the Goddard-Townsend cabinetmakers of Newport,
Rhode Island. Whereas the routes of Virginia and Pennsylvania
influence are apparent and expected, one can only speculate on
the transmission of apparent Rhode Island influence to the nor-
thern Shenandoah Valley.

All the Shearer pieces reveal consistent structural practices.
The favored primary woods are walnut and cherry; the favored
secondary wood is hard pine. The furniture is extremely heavy,
and possesses the characteristic "overconstruction" found fre-
quently on pieces made in the counties of southeastern and
south-central Pennsylvania. The bottoms of drawers are secured
by large rose-headed nails. More unusual is the occasional use of
screws where nails or pegs might be expected. Each drawer rests
upon a mortised frame that entirely encircles the inside of the
carcase of the piece. Dovetails, as seen in the central section of
the desk with the armorial type of inlay on the fall lid (Fig. 21)
are long, precisely formed, and regularly spaced. The angles and
spacing of dovetails in the Shearer pieces are remarkably similar.

Structurally, the most complex of all the Shearer pieces is the
desk-and-bookcase (Fig. 1). Each foot is shaped from a single
block of wood, secured to the base by a massive iron brace (Fig.
22). The pediment slides forward from the top of the bookcase

i ,; 'i . i ' i * ' % M-*' .j it.

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Figure 21. Detail of the dovetails of the central section of the interior of the
desk illustrated in Figure 4. The wooden locking device also should be noted.

Figure 22. Detail showing the construction of the feet in the desk section of the
desk-and-bookcase illustrated in Figure 1.

section (Fig. 23); it is held in place by two boards applied to the
top.

Both John Shearer and his furniture share some of the same
qualities: provinciality in origin but sophistication in outlook.
With many questions remaining unanswered, John Shearer has
at last achieved what was denied him in life, widespread
recognition for his works, and the freedom to express his Tory
beliefs.

Figure 23- Detail showing the construction of the top and pediment of the
bookcase section of the desk-and- bookcase illustrated in Figure 1.

Mr. Snyder, a Winterthur graduate and writer, lives in Lancaster,
Pennsylvania.

NOTES

1. Sotheby Parke Bernet catalogue for sale number 4076, February 4, 1978,
lot 1341. The desk-and-bookcase is illustrated in color.

2. Letter from Edward Knodle, Hagerstown, Maryland, to Mr. and Mrs.
R. W. Tener, September 30, 1929- Courtesy of the Museum of Early
Southern Decorative Arts, Winston- Salem, North Carolina.

3. The majority of the most important of the numerous inscriptions on the
desk-and-bookcase are discussed in the text. Enigmatic are inscriptions
and a pencil drawing appearing on the interior surfaces of the large top
drawer. The very faded drawing shows a figure almost certainly represen-
ting the devil with a pronged fork prodding a man who is saying "Never
Rebel." Writing in this drawer includes the following lines: "Down with
the Cropper (Croppes?) of Irland"; "Cropper (Croppes?) is Repenting,
and his Master is Angry"; and "Shearer Even you dam" futers (?)." Both
the drawing and the writings seem to express anti-Irish sentiments.

4. The inscriptions written in red crayon on this chest of five tiers of drawers
appear on the underside of the top, and on interior surfaces of the three
large drawers. There is illegible writing on the five smaller drawers in the
top two tiers. A long but very worn pencil inscription appears on the ex-
posed underside of the middle large drawer.

5. On this desk, the inscriptions appear on the interior surfaces of drawers
and the underside of the writing surface.

6. It should be noted that Berkeley County, West Virginia, was Berkeley
County, Virginia, before the War Between the States.

7. When this low chest of drawers was advertised in Antiques in January,
1965, the word "Martinsburgh" was read incorrectly as "Harrisburgh."

8. The town now called Edinburg formerly was often called Shryock. See
Klaus Wust, The Virginia Germans (Charlottesville: University of Virginia
Press, 1969), p. 161.

9. Letter from Camden Ramsburg of New Market, Maryland, to John J.
Snyder, Jr., December 26, 1972. Also, letter from Francis Silver, Mar-
tinsburg, West Virginia, to John J. Snyder, Jr., January 16, 1973.

10. Information courtesy of Frank Horton, letter of March 30, 1978.

11. William Randolph Hearst Sale Catalogue, Parke Bernet, New York,
November 19, 1938, Lot 562.

12. Letter from Wallace Gusler, Williamsburg, Virginia, November 19, 1976.

13. William H. Egle, Notes and Queries, Third Series, v. 2, (1896), pp.
119-122.

14. Ibid., Fourth Series, v. 1, (1893), pp. 327-328.

15. Unpublished Shearer family genealogy, assembled c. 1900 by Mary
Marshall Shearer. Courtesy of Mrs. Kenneth Rich, San Antonio, Texas, a
descendant of John Shearer's brother, Thomas.

16. John Shearer Appraisement and Accounts 1777-1778, Book 1, p. 88, p.
89, and p. 139, Berkeley County Courthouse, Martinsburg, West
Virginia.

17. From the unpublished Shearer genealogy, the will of Archibald Shearer,
and extant tombstones both whole and fragmentary at Falling Waters, the
following account of the children of Archibald and Sarah (Prather)
Shearer may be outlined:

1. Elizabeth, born December 23, 1760; married 1783 to Alexander
Porterfield.

2. Catherine, born May 25, 1762; died October 27, 1828, unmarried.

3. Martha (Patty) born September 13, 1763; married 1795 Jacob
Towson; died January 6, 1824.

4. John (subject of this article) born February 13 (or 11?), 1765; married
Mary Ann ; died 1810.

5. Ann (Nancy) born September 11, 1766; married 1799 to Elias Oden
(1769-1830); died March 16, 1836.

6. Mary, born May 9, 1768; married Klinger.

7. Thomas, born July 19, 1769 (?); married Rachel Smith of Stevens-
burg, Virginia; living in the decade 1810-1820. Left descendants.

8. James, born March 25, 1771; died October, 1836.

9. Henry, born December 22, 1772; died c. 1808; unmarried.

10. Archibald, born April 6, 1774; died c. 1819-1822; unmarried.

11. Basil, born February 27, 1777.

12. Samuel, born January 28, 1779.

13. Sarah, born July 15, 1781; evidently died in infancy.

14. Sarah (Sally?), born July 28, 1782; died aged 16 (?).

It should be noted that the name was spelled both "Shearer" and
"Sheerer" in this period. Further, although it is likely that John Shearer
(1765-1810) may have been buried at Falling Waters, no tombstone
fragments of his stone may be found there. It is equally possible that he
was buried in the vicinity of Williamsport, Maryland.

18. Archibald Shearer Will and Inventory, 1800, v. 3, p. 384, Berkeley Coun-
ty Courthouse, Martinsburg, West Virginia.

19. Deeds A-231 and EE-321, Washington County Courthouse, Hagerstown,
Maryland.

20. Berkeley County Tax Lists, 1802; Sarah Shearer Will and Vendue List, v.
3, p. 720; both at Berkeley County Courthouse, Martinsburg, West
Virginia.

21. John Shearer Will 1810, Washington County, Maryland. Original at Hall
of Records, Annapolis, Maryland.

22. John Shearer 1810 Inventory, taken by John Hogg and Milton H. Sackett,
Washington County Book D-158, Hall of Records, Annapolis, Maryland.

23. John Shearer Estate Accounts, Washington County Book 4, pp. 64-66,
Hall of Records, Annapolis, Maryland.

24. Mary Ann Shearer Will 1825, Washington County, Maryland. Original at
Hall of Records, Annapolis, Maryland.

25. Conversation with John Ziegler of Falling Waters, November, 1974. Also
see Shearer genealogy (Note 17).

26. These mask motifs may ultimately be traced to widespread sources in
Baroque an. Perhaps they are more than mere decoration on the Shearer
pieces; they could be a symbolic allusion to his secret Tory identity.

27. Wallace B. Gusler and Sumpter Priddy III, "Furniture of Williamsburg
and Eastern Virginia," Antiques, August 1978, pp. 282-293. Particularly
relevant is the desk-and-bookcase illustrated there as Figure 5.

28. Ralph E. Carpenter, Jr. , The Arts and Crafts of Newport, Rhode Island,
1640-1820 (Newport: Preservation Society of Newport County, 1954),
p. 95.

/ wish to acknowledge the assistance of Francis Silver of Martinsburg,
John Ziegler of Falling Waters, and Mrs. Kenneth Rich of San Antonio,
Texas.

A School of Charleston, South Carolina
Brass Andirons

Bradford L. Rauschenberg

Aside from a few marked American brass andirons, iden-
tification of unmarked examples is difficult and has been little
approached by scholars of American decorative art. Awareness
of a particular region is based upon marked examples, construc-
tion similarities, and histories of ownership. Variations of these
regional characteristics reflect areas such as Baltimore, Boston,
Newport, New York, and Philadelphia. To these areas can now
be added Charleston, South Carolina. As a city recognized for
its high style in the field of eighteenth- and early nineteenth-
century architecture, paintings, furniture, and silver, Charleston
has now yielded its secret of two styles of brass andiron produc-
tion: neoclassical and Empire.

This recognition of a school of Charleston brass andirons has
been approached with caution. The conception of Charleston as
a center with a regional style of brass andirons developed during
the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts' Field Research
Program in coastal South Carolina.1 The frequent recognition of
neoclassical (Figs. 1-12) and Empire (Figs. 13-15) examples in
private homes and collections, each with Charleston family
histories and similar construction characteristics peculiar to the
two styles, suggested local production. This hypothesis now
becomes a theory with the discovery of similar examples in col-
lections around the United States, these also with histories of

being acquired in Charleston. Further strengthening this
theory, Charleston newspapers contain many advertisements of
braziers and brass founders, the latter advertising brass andiron
production.2

Before the Charleston school of brass production is discussed
the two styles of andirons need to be identified as objects, each
with its own characteristics and relationships to others of the

Figure 1. Philadelphia-Charleston, Neoclassical Group I, brass andirons, ca.
1780-83. 3OV2" HO A. Private collection.

same style. Of the two styles, neoclassical and Empire, the
neoclassical should be discussed first in deference to chronology
and style development.

The change from Chippendale to neoclassical design in and-
irons is seldom pure. Elements of neoclassicism or Adam style
gradually appear. In Charleston andirons, Chippendale
elements persist to circa 1800. In the neoclassical style of
Charleston andirons it will be seen that certain features remain
constant. Primary among these is an obelisk-like shape of the
shaft which may be viewed as a reversed neoclassical furniture
leg (Figs. 1-11).

Secondly, the plinth or bottom element of the shaft sits on
top of the base or legs (Figs. 4-11). For the purpose of this arti-
cle, the neoclassical style of Charleston-made brass andirons will
be divided into three chronological groups of style develop-
ment: I, 1780-1790 (Figs. 1-3); II, 1785-1800 (Figs. 4-7); and
III, 1790-1805 (Figs. 8-12).

Group I consists of three pairs similar in base construction.
The ball and claws have well defined knuckles, separated and
vertical Philadelphia claws, inside and outside leg spurs, molded
legs at a point where they engage the plinth, and a drop-angle
billet bar (log rest), all characteristics seen in Philadelphia.3
Therefore, the tight relationship between these andirons, when
viewed with groups II and III, reveal the strong possibility of a
Philadelphia-to-Charleston transition group.

Figure 1 is the earliest of the Philadelphia-to-Charleston
type in that the shafts and heads (urns with finials) are fluted
and the middle element in the finial is gadrooned. The capital
of the shaft has a middle division above the fluting, which is
beaded. There is no engraving as is seen in Figure 2 and later ex-
amples. A probable date for these could be 1 780-85. 4

Figure 2 exhibits a reeded head and smooth shaft. Above the
medial molding of the shaft can be seen engravings of patera,
husks, and vines. Below the medial molding, on the surface of
the pedestal (square element above plinth), can be found an
eagle with outspread wings over which are rays and thirteen
stars. Though polishing has almost removed this motif, its
discovery is unique to this pair within groups I, II, and III.5 This
symbol certainly denotes the early federal period. The earliest
flag usage of the eagle and thirteen stars is 1784.6 Indian peace
medals of this period and until 1795 also show this motif.7 One

Figure 2. Philadelphia-Charleston, Neoclassical Group I, brass andirons, ca.
1785-1790. 30'/2"HOA. Private collection.

might attribute these andirons as being early in this period of
the new nation.

The andirons in Figure 38 retain the gadrooning on the finial
as in Figure 1 . The stylized engraving is unique to this pair and
exhibits inventiveness with a French-like basket of flowers,9
vines and tulip-like flowers. Below the capital of the shaft is a
beaded edge which was seen in Figure 1.

I -.«„•

Figure 3- Philadelphia-Charleston, Neoclassical Group I, brass andirons, ca.
1783-1790. 30V4" HOA, 13V2" WOA. Collections of Greenfield Village and
Henry Ford Museum, Acquisition Number 30.958.292.

Again, note the construction feature of Group I: the legs
make their junction into the plinth. Groups II (Figs. 4-7) and III
(Figs. 8-12) possess a remarkable variation to the pattern of
Group I (Figs. 1-3). The plinth is a separate element sitting on
top of the base. Group II have cabriole legs. Group III have
gothic-like bases. This structural change could well indicate a
new technique, another brass foundry, a change of ownership,
or perhaps the end of the aforementioned Philadelphia-to-
Charleston transition period. This could also indicate a style in-
fluence or craftsman migration. At this point the positive origin
of Group I is uncertain.

The solid recognition of Groups II and III as a Charleston
school is supported by their having, for the most part,
Charleston histories of ownership. Group I have unknown
histories. Group II, along with Group III, has the plinth atop
the base, a less defined ball-and-claw with a more horizontal
side claw (Fig. 6b) and only outside spurs, all important varia-
tions from Group I, and where histories are known, they have
South Carolina connections.

Of Group II, Figure 410 returns to the reeded head and
patera of Figure 2 and introduces a unique paneled shaft. The
design source for this shaft pattern could well be The 11** Edition
of Genteel Household Furniture in the Present Taste ... by the
Society of Upholsteres [sic], Cabinet-Makers, &c, which was
published in London between 1760 and 1763. n In this design
book, plate 105 illustrates "Ornaments to Grates for Burning
Wood &c." Six "ornaments" are illustrated, one of which is
quite similar to the portion of the shaft above the medial
molding (Fig. 4b).

The boldness of this pair of andirons is unusual with the
design reflecting the inventiveness of an unknown Charleston
brass founder. These exhibit an engraved patera on the front of
the tapering element, above the capital and below the head.
Also, on the shaft above the medial molding, a six-pointed star
is only on the front of the shaft. This star probably is a variation
of the quatrefoil device shown in Figure 4b. Undoubtedly, the
star seemed more appropriate in this 1785-1800 period.

Figures 1 through 4 illustrate a billet bar without a vertical
pyramidal pointed "log-stop." The rest of Group II and III,
with the exception of Figure 8, have these members. There is a
strong possibility that these log-stops also served to retain coal
grates. While no grate has been found, they were popular in

Figure 4a. Charleston, Neoclassical Group II, brass andirons, ca. 1785-1800.
3OV2" HOA, 14 1/8" WOA. History of 1930 purchase from shop of William
J. O'Hagan, antique dealer, Charleston, S. C. Courtesy of Colonial
Williamsburg Foundation. Acquisition Number 1930-509,1-2.

America and we know that coal and grates were available in
Charleston at this point.

Figure 5a12 also has the reeded head of Figures 2 and 4. With
this example, the refined elegance of neoclassical engraving is
well developed with patera, intertwining vines, fabric swags,
and a unique inverted husk or bellflower between the legs (Fig.
5 b). The shaft above the medial molding has obliquely finished

Figure 4b. Detail of plate 105, "Ornaments to Grates for Burning Wood
&c," Genteel Household Furniture by A Society of Upholsterers, Cabinet-
makers, &c, London 176- . Courtesy, Henry Francis duPont Winterthur
Museum Libraries.

corners engraved with linearly attached husks. Supporting the
feet are square plates (also see Fig. 6) which apparently occur on-
ly in Charleston. It will be noticed that several plates are used in
the construction of each andiron in Groups II and III. In Group
II the plate is needed to support the plinth on the thin base. In
Group III with the flat surfaced gothic base, the plate is un-
necessary. The brass andirons in Figure 5 are supreme examples
of the Charleston school and would undoubtedly be the best
were it not for the apparent unique paktong pair in Figure 6a.
Paktong or tutenag is an alloy of copper, zinc, and nickel.
Also known as white copper, paktong (pai-t'ung) is a Chinese
invention, occasionally seen in grates, fenders, and candlesticks
of English and European origin.14 To the knowledge of the
author there is not a marked example of American production.
Nor has there ever been any serious research into the possibility
of American production. However, the existence of the andirons
illustrated in Figure 6a offers proof of Charleston production.15
The author is not familiar with a single pair of English paktong

^n*-"K

Figure 5 a. Charleston, Neoclassical Group II, brass andirons, ca. 1785-1800.
30" HO A, 14" WO A. Collections of Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford
Museum, Acquisition Number 35-326.4.

Figure 5 b. Detail of Figure 5a. Inverted husk or bellflower suspended from
base plate below plinth. Engraving similar to lines of ' 'scratch work '
Charleston husks and bellflowers.

andirons. By this time, as a rule, English andiron production
was unusual; the conversion to coal grates was complete in most
homes. When viewed with other andiron examples in the
Charleston school it is seen that all Charleston construction
features are present. The high style Adam engraving justifies the
special quality of the metal. Obviously, at the time of produc-
tion style was paramount and cost was no object. Someone in
Charleston demanded the best.

The quality of engraving in Figure 6a represents the hand of
a professional, as well as all of Group I, II, and III. The business
relationship of brass founders and engravers or silversmiths is

Figure 5c. Detail of ivory husk or bellflower on door of Holmes secretary-
bookcase, Charleston, ca. 1770. Compare with Figure 5b. Heyward-
Washington House, Charleston Museum.

unknown; however, the ever-present case for piece work is ob-
vious.16 During this period in Charleston the quality work of
engravers and silversmiths is well known. Throughout Groups I,
II, and III variations in engraving ability and style occur;
therefore, the author is not suggesting the same hand executed
all engravings. However, among several andirons the work is
quite similar and suggests the same hand.

M
* - j

%i £p

V ■»»

Figure 6a. Charleston, Neoclassical Group II, paktong andirons, ca.
1785-1800. 28 7/8" HO A, 14 1/8" WO A. Courtesy of the Henry Francis
duPont Winterthur Museum. Acquisition Number 61.1413-1,2.

At this point in Group II it is important to consider a theory
of the late Charles Montgomery concerning the role of the carver
and turner as a specialist in preparing wooden patterns for the
brass founder. Montgomery recognized a similarity between
turned columns and ball-and-claw feet of Chippendale style fur-
niture in Philadelphia and brass andirons from the same city.17
This is apparently true to a limited extent in Charleston (Fig.
6b).

The brass andirons in Figure 7a demonstrate all the construc-
tion features of Figure 6a with the exception of the plates under
the feet. On the sides of this pair are found linearly arranged
husks, surmounted by a bow-knot (Fig. 7b), a feature often
found in Group III. The swags of fabric on the heads have

Figure 6b. Detail of Charleston paktong andirons ball-and-claw foot with
Charleston mahogany tea table ball-and-claw. Similarity reflects carver pro-
ducing pattern for brass founder. Compare also Figures 4 and 5.

Figure 7a. Charleston, Neoclassical Group II, brass andirons, ca. 1785-1800.
30'/2 " HOA. Private collection.

Figure 7 b. Detail of head and shaft of 7a.

■

f^BEK-

Figure 8a. Charleston, Neoclassical Group III, brass andirons, ca. 1790-1803.
26 %" HO A, 9V2" WO A. History ofCheves, Middle ton, or Kinlock families
of Charleston. Private collection. MESDA research file S-9006.

Figure 8b. Detail of advertisement of C. W. Lyon, Inc., illustrating Charleston
Group III brass andiron, ca. 1790-1803, 30" HOA. From The Magazine
Antiques, August, 1951, p. 73.

'/'fr/.' /</'<>//</' A ■/' ,'/<-,r f //,r //</.> . «• 7rfi>u*i <r//</ < V////'/.'<

Figure 8c. Detail of plate 9, ' 'Frets Proper for Tea Stands, Trays and Fenders, ' '
The Joyners and Cabinetmakers Darling, London, 1770. Courtesy of the
Henry Francis duPont Winterthur Museum Libraries.

repeated those in the plinths of Figure 5 . Upon close examina-
tion, many similar details in engraving design are repeated in
Figures 2,4, and 7, and in Group III.

Group III (Figs. 8-12) demonstrates the next period of
chronological development and possibly a change in masters or
foundries. Change is not always for the good and Group III may
demonstrate a decline of design. It is possible that Group III il-
lustrates another foundry, but, if so, identical constructional
features were used. To the author, Group III is the same found-
ry as Group II but demonstrates a style change. The time factor
for this change is difficult to determine, but about 1800 seems
probable.

This style change or transition from Group II to III is
demonstrated by Figures 8a19 and 8b.20 The reason for assigning
the two pair as transition examples is that the opposing scrolls
between the legs are probably vestigial of the inverted husk or
bellflower (Fig. 5b). Figures 8a and 8b are positioned in this
stage of the chronology because of the "underdeveloped" mid-
dle foot. Also the obliquely finished corners of the shafts (Figure
8a) have close ties with Figure 5 and its similarly finished cor-
ners. In summary, Figure 5 and Figures 8a and 8b have close
design characteristics. However, as will be seen later in this study
there is a base development (Fig. 12) in which the middle foot is
no longer a design characteristic. Perhaps Figures 8a and 8b
should be placed just before Figure 12, because in theory, the
design is always the strongest at the time of introduction and
weakens as time passes. However, have Figures 8a and 8b a weak
or strong base design affinity to Figure 8c? The design for this
gothic-like base is probably plate 9 of John Crunden's 1770 The

M-

t& M &

Figure 9- Charleston, Neoclassical Group III, brass andirons, ca. 1790-1803.
26 3/8" HO A, 8V4 " WO A. Engraving on shafts is worn, but identical to lb.
History of descent from Henry Middleton. Middleton Place Foundation.
MESDA research file S-8198.

Joyner's and Cabinetmakers Darling.11 Figure 8c is half of
Crunden's plate 9, which is entitled "Frets proper for Tea
Stands, Trays and Fenders." As is seen, the bases of Group III
follow this design, with Figs. 10-12 as a complete middle foot.
These transitional pairs (Figs. 8a and 8b) demonstrate
engraving seen earlier such as swags of husks, on the head (Fig.
6a), and often repeated patera. However, the running laurel
branch, separate or with vines, is a new element. The author ex-

amined Charleston engraved printed material and found that
this device was not used before 1795.

It will be noticed that the medial molding in Figure 8a is
small and unlike previous examples. This perhaps is another
reason for placing Figures 8a and 8b later in this study; the
evolution to a smooth shaft. Figure 8b demonstrates the normal
medial molding of Groups I and II and Figure 9- Here Figure 9
might be placed before Figure 8 as it demonstrates the large
medial molding common to Groups I and II. However, it is dif-
ficult to demonstrate chronology with so few examples.

•Ov

' ;e

Figure 10a. Charleston, Neoclassical Group III, brass andirons, ca. 1790-1803.
25 3/8" HOA, 7 15/16" WOA. Middleton Place Foundation. MESDA
research file S-9063-

Figure 10b. Detail of head.

Figure 10c. Detail of shaft.

Figure 9 illustrates the full developed middle foot as was
seen in design source (Fig. 8c). The engraving on the base is of
the laurel branches as in Figure 8a. The engraver was not the
same. The plinth is faced with the floral swag of the paktong
pair (Fig. 6). The shaft is engraved with linear husks and inter-
twining vines identical to Figure 7. The swags on the head and
the patera are again repeated as in Figures 7 and 10.

The two pairs in Figures 1023 and ll24 demonstrate less ex-
pensive andirons in that both are the shortest in Groups I, II,
and III, and are engraved only on the front of the shaft in Figure
1 1 . The shortness was accomplished by the elimination of the
tapered element between the capital and head which was found
in previous examples.

Figure lOd. Detail of base.

The engraving on Figure 10a repeats the fabric swags on the
head (Fig. 10b), the patera and the linear husks, the latter iden-
tically to Figure 9 as on the side of the legs. Almost removed by
polishing in Figure 9 was a Chippendale-like "ruffle" at the top
of the base under the plinth. This can now be seen in the base in
Figure lOd, which also is faced with edging much like bright-cut
work on silver. The shaft (Fig. 10c) is engraved with a divergent
style approaching the naivete'of Figure 3 . The central motif is a
hurricane-shade-shaped motif with flowers emerging from the
top. This is unique to this pair but within the design framework
of others illustrated.

The medial moldings on Figures 10 and 11 are small and
reflect the design decay already mentioned with Figure 8a. Also,
the finials of Figures 10 and 11 have eliminated the small turn-
ing above the head (Figs. 1-9) and now present a clean thrust
upward.

The engraving on the base of Figure 10c must have been a
common design for a period; it has been seen on another pair of
andirons and repeats on example 12. Figure 12a25 illustrates an
identical base (Figure 12c) with engraving as on Figure 10. The
head has identical engraving and profile as in 10b. However, the
shaft (Fig. 12b) is round and with a bow-knot engraved as in
Figures 7b and 9. Apparently, a technical problem was en-
countered with the round shaft, as the plinth is missing and the

Figure 11a. Charleston, Neoclassical Group III, brass andirons, ca. 1790-1805.
24 V2" HO A, 73A" WO A. History of descent in W. M. Wallace family of
Charleston, S. C. Private collection. MESDA research file S-8741.

billet bar attaching plate shows. This transition to a round shaft
announces the arrival of an early empire at the end of the first
decade of the nineteenth century.

The neoclassical school (Groups I, II and III) of Charleston
andirons are among the finest produced in America. The quality
of these reflects well the neoclassical period of architecture still
evident in Charleston. They must have aptly complemented a
chimney piece, with all of its neoclassical composition work, and
brought the black hole of the fireplace opening alive with their
majestic height, luster, and engraving.

Figure lib. Figure 11a disassembled.

The transition in Charleston brass andirons during the turn
of the century is best illustrated by Figure 12a. The discovery of
this pair was most fortunate as the profile of its round shaft an-
nounces the transition to the pair illustrated in Figure 13a. This
pair, complete with fender and one log stop finial, was found to
be identical to a pair shown in an early work on Charleston ar-
chitecture.26 The andirons in Figure 13a possess a round shaft
similar to Figure 12b. In the transition the shaft top necks in,
with one ring turning and two at the bottom before they join
the Empire base. Notice also the thickening of the neoclassical
head (Fig. 13b) developing into a squatty Empire type as seen in
Figure 14a. With the development of this base and head the
transition to Empire is complete.

The survival of the almost complete pair illustrated in Figure
13 is apparently rare, for only two other sets of this Group IV
were located, and they were missing the connecting fender. This
fender (Fig. 13c) has two end vertical pins which attach into the

Figure 12a. Charleston, Neoclassical Group HI, brass andirons, ca. 1800-1810.

2OV2" HOA, WO A. Note absence of middle foot and transition from

square to round shaft. History of acquisition in Essex, Massachusetts. Private
collection.

Figure 12b. Detail of base of 12a. Compare with Figure lOd. Note absence of
plinth element allowing billet bar plate to show.

Figure 13a. Charleston, Neoclassical-Empire Group IV, brass andirons with
fender, 1810-15. 19" HO A, 22V4" WO A with fender, 20" DOA with billet
bar. Private collection. MESDA research file S-9257.

cast eyes on the andirons, a feature apparently unique to this
group of Charleston origin.

The design elements on the fender (Fig. 13c) are similar to
those seen in plates 28 and 101 of the 1808 publication, A Col-
lection of Designs for Household Furniture and Interior Decora-
tion, a London publication. This early nineteenth century
design source was undoubtedly available in Charleston. Written
by George Smith, it was the most important furniture design
book in America in the first two decades of the new century. His
designs are Greco-Roman, Gothic, and Egyptian, separately
treated at times, combined at other times. Elements are com-
bined in the case of the fender (Fig. 13c). While the center of
the fender is pierced, the edges have raised elements which are
offset by the blackening of the tooled background. This was the
English Regency period in furniture (1811-20) and the Empire
period in America.

Figure 13b. Detail of head and shaft of 13a.

» «•» «•» «•» «•»«•» «•» «•» «•»••»

>:<•- i v.;

ft£«r<? 23c. Detail offender of 1 5a, 4V4 " HO A, 15" WO A through pins, 1/8"
DO A.

Figure 14a. Charleston, Empire Group IV, brass andirons, ca. 1815. 20'A "
HOA, 4 7/8" WO A. History of descent in the Bull family of Charleston.
Private collection. MESDA research file S-9107.

Figure 14b. Side view of 14a with log-stop finial, brass cap (8 'A "DO A) on iron
billet bar. Compare log-stop finial with Neoclassical-Empire andiron finials in
Figure 13 for similarity.

Figure 14c. Detail of base. Fender
4 7/8" WOA, 2" DOA.

'eye" 4V4" HOA, base 4 7/8" HOA,

Group IV makes its beginning with Figure 13. The transition
from Group III via Figure 12a is apparent, and continues this
Charleston school of andirons into the Empire style. In the early
nineteenth century fireplaces became smaller. With the use of
brass in the design of French styles, andirons became shorter and
squatty in appearance (Figs. 13-15). The plinth and base are
one, unusual in American andirons of this period. The transi-
tion was generally to a ball or snake foot.27 Charleston evidently
did not follow this custom. The author was unable to locate a
design source for this style of base, probably a French design of
this period.

The Empire examples of Group IV illustrate an almost
vestigial log-stop which in Figure 13a has been bent forward from
the weight of logs.28 The billet bar is capped with a brass ele-
ment, pierced to allow the passage of a vertical iron pin for the
finial. These were the most complete andirons found of this
style. The shape of the head does not match the head in Figure
14a.29 Note that the log-stop finial (Fig. 14b) matches the finials
of Figure 13. The fender evidence in Figure 14 is seen by the
"eyes" for the fender pins. This pair of andirons demonstrates
the last stage of Group IV development. The heads are round
and surmounted with finials similar to the log-stop finials, but
more slender. The shafts swell at the bottom and are faceted, as
are the tops of the round heads. This faceting of a surface can be
found in the table shafts of Figures 15 and 16.

Further identification with Charleston was established
through the discovery of an extraordinary table (Fig. 15a).30 This
apparently unique table reflects the French empire taste in cast

Figure 15 a. Library (?) table, Charleston, South Carolina, ca. 1815, mahogany
throughout. Center finial gilded. 30 1/8" HOA, 44'/4 " WOA, 37 7/8" DOA.
History of previous Kamanski collection, Georgetown, S. C. Private collection.
MESDA research file S-9000.

Figure 15b. Detail of brass apron of 15a. 4'M " HOA.

brass swags (Fig. 15b) mounted around the entire top. Indica-
tions are that this table sat out in a room as a library table. Car-
rying the brass ornamentation still further, the column bases are
of brass andiron plinths and pedestals (Fig. 15c) as seen in
Figures 13-15. Detailed examination of the andiron parts incor-

Figure 15c. Detail of base of 15a. Andiron bases used as supporting elements
for columns. Compare with Figure 14 and 15. Brass bases 5 " HO A and 2 1 18 "
DOA.

porated on this table revealed that the eyes for the fender at-
tachment had been filed off after the part was cast.

A Charleston origin for this table is further strengthened
with the table in Figure 16a.31 Both tables have a history of
Georgetown, South Carolina, ownership. Coastal Georgetown is
above Charleston and does not appear to have had a
recognizable furniture style. The design of both tables is about
1815 and might be thought of New York origin were it not for
the brasswork and unusual gilded flnial between the turned
members. Close examination of both tables evidences the same
shop of origin. The brass work in Figure 15 is original although
the top and top-to-pedestal attachment have been reworked.
The design is correct for this table, as it could never have had a
top as in Figure 16; the height is correct for the supporting base
of wood turnings and brass andiron parts. The turnings in

V**

Figure 16a. Card table, Charleston, South Carolina, ca. 1815. Mahogany with
cherry block, white pine gilded finial, frame under top. 29 'A " HO A, closed;
35}/4"WOA; 18" DO A, closed. History of descent from William Algernon
Alston of "Rose Hill^ near Charleston, S. C. Private collection. MESDA
research file S-2400.

Figure 15c appear to have been designed for a separate base.
There is a bulbous base to the turnings before a shaped
mahogany block. This sits atop the brass base.

The combining of andiron parts with furniture is unusual,
but with the need for special brass work as the apron, a partner-
ship of a brass founder and a cabinetmaker is suggested. A
search for a positive connection failed to locate such a partner-
ship. However, during this period Robert Wallace was a brass
founder and Thomas and William Wallace were cabinetmakers.
No family or business connection has yet been found.

This empire style of andiron must be Charleston in origin.
All evidence says so and examples have not been found
elsewhere. These, as with the neoclassical styles, are unmarked.
This is not unusual as very few andirons are marked. Even
though there are no marked examples, Charleston newspaper
advertisements reveal much about Charleston brass manufac-
tures.

Figure 16b. Detail of base of 16a. Compare with Figure 15c.

The first indication of brass work is that of brazier Anthony
Corne' in 1735, lately from London, and

living in Elliott's street Charlestown maketh and selleth
all sorts of Brasier, Pewterer, and Tinman's ware. He also
buyeth any old Copper, Brass, Pewter, &c. and Tinneth
and mendeth any of the afore mentioned Ware at the
lowest prices.

South-Carolina Gazette, 13 Dec. 1735, 2-2

From such an advertisement it is difficult to know the scope
of his work. In London, specialization would have been normal.
However, in Charleston where Corne' might have been the only
worker in brass, did he follow his training only as a brazier or
did he branch out and, if able financially and technically, build
a foundry and cast brass when necessary?

How would he have advertised differently? Would he have
called himself a brass founder or, as he was trained, a brazier?
The scope of production undoubtedly varied according to the
brazier's ability. At what point did a brazier begin to call

himself a brass founder, if ever? It is interesting that after the
middle of the eighteenth century brass founders' advertisements
flourished and fewer artisans advertised as braziers; there were
almost no brazier advertisements at the end of the eighteenth
century.

Such a transition from brazier to brass founder may be
represented by William Linthwaite who,32 in 1736,

has a fine Sortment of Indian Trading Kettles and Pewter
by him to sell, and makes and mends all sorts of old ones
at reasonable Rates, and gives the best Price for old Cop-
per, Brass or Pewter.

South Carolina Gazette, Charleston, July 31, 1736, 3-1.

Within a few months he is again advertising:

N. B. The said Linthwaite has just imported a fresh
assortment of iron and pewter wares, which he will sell
Wholesale or Retail at a reasonable Price, for ready
Money, he designing to leave off Shop keeping, and to
sell only such Goods as he makes himself, viz. all sorts of
Brass, Copper and Tin Wares, Indian Traders and
Storekeepers that will take of no other but him in the
Year, may be supplied by him with such Goods in his
Trade at the Wholesale Price, tho' they take as small a
Quantity as they please. He also buys all sorts of old Brass
and Pewter and exchanges new for old.

South-Carolina Gazette, Charleston. 12 Mar. 1736/7,
3-1.

In the second advertisement Linthwaite enumerates that he is
making "Brass, Copper and Tin Wares." Also, as most braziers
say, he buys copper, brass, and pewter. Copper and pewter are
malleable, but brass must be melted and then recast. Is this not
a founder?

In 1760 appears the first advertisement of a Charleston
"brass founder."

John Robertson,

BRASS FOUNDER, in KING STREET.

Begs leave to return thanks to those gentlemen and

others who have been pleased to favour him with their

custom, and at the same time inform them that he con-
tinues to make, in the neatest manner, all sorts of brass
candlesticks, and church lusters or branches — also
cabinet, desk, drawer, coach, chair, and chaiss
mouldings, brass tongs, shovels and fenders; bells, brass
weights, candle moulds, sheet lead, and sash and other
lead weights, &c. &c. Likewise all sorts of brasses used by
gunsmiths, blacksmiths, &c.

N.B. He also makes all sorts of mill and other machinery
work, and soldiers regimental belt, shoe, and knee
buckles, and clasps — READY MONEY will be given for
old brass, copper, pewter, bell mettal, or lead, by said
Robertson.

South-Carolina Gazette, 16 Dec. 1760, 1-2.

From this it appears that Robertson has been in business for
some time and well established. The duration of his business
past this advertisement is unknown. He died about 1795.33 It is
interesting that in this long list of products andirons are not
mentioned as is other fireplace equipment.

In 1764 is found the first advertisement of Charleston-made
brass andirons. Jacob and Solomon Proby34 advertise that they
have moved

their shop from King Street, to the corner of Broad and
Meetingstreet, opposite to the new Church, where brass
fenders, hand irons, sconces, candlesticks, gun mount-
ings, stirrups, house ornaments, mill work, cocks, house
and horse bells, harness work, spoon moulds, and all
other kinds of Founders work is done reasonable and ex-
peditiously, They likewise mend and tin copper kettles,
and mend china; and give the best price for old copper,
brass, pewter, etc. etc.

South Carolina Gazette, Charleston, 26 Nov. 1764, 2-1.

The design of these brass hand irons (andirons) can only be
conjectured as they were probably of pure Chippendale design.
How long the Probys were in business is not known, but they
probably had competition from Thomas Arundel Temple, brass
founder, of King Street, who died in 1771. 35 Temple evidently
did not advertise.

This brings to question the many artisans who worked but
never advertised. Either they were not willing to bother with an
advertisement or they felt no need: they had all the business
they needed. Also, everyone knew where the business was
located.

Evidently, John Michael36 needed to advertise in 1772 and
1773:

JOHN MICHAEL,
BRASS-FOUNDER and COPPER-SMITH
Takes this Method to inform his Friends and the Public,
That he has for SALE A QUANTITY of Brass Fire-Dogs,
Tongs and Shovels, of Different Patterns; — Likewise a
Quantity of Tea-Kettles, of various Sizes, which he will
dispose of as cheap as any imported, at his Shop in
Meeting Street, near the State-House; where he carries
on the BRASS-FOUNDERY, COPPER-SMITH, and
PLUMBING BUSINESS, in all their Branches, as cheap
as can be imported.

N.B. He will give the utmost Value for old Copper,
Brass, Pewter, and Lead.

South Carolina Gazette, Charleston, 25 Oct. 1773, 3-3.

Here again, andirons (fire-dogs) are for sale and "A Quanti-
ty . . . of Different Patterns." Unfortunately, this is still too ear-
ly for the neoclassical-style andirons; Robert Adams designs
were not published in one volume until 1778.

During this period the last two braziers to advertise in
Charleston were John Crawford (1774-75)37 and Anthony
Jankofsky (1777). 38 Perhaps this illustrates the tail end of the
transition from brazier to brass founder. Of course, there were
some braziers who did not become brass founders, but copper-
smiths, iron workers, or pewterers. Those who did stay braziers
often worked for a larger industry.

Another brass founder for whom no advertisement has been
found was John Mears, who was listed in the 1790 Charleston
Directory as of 64 Meeting Street. How long before 1790 Mears
was operating as a brass founder is unknown. He was not listed
in the 1794 Directory. However, an Alexander McCliesh, brass
founder, was listed at 64 Meeting Street in the 1794 Directory.
He continued there until 1802, when his address was 56
Meeting Street, remaining there until his death in 1809.39 From

1797 to 1799 McCliesh was in partnership with John Moss, brass
founder.40

In 1802, Archibald Buchanan41 was listed and continued in
the directories through 1816. In 1813, he was in partnership
with James McCliesh, son of Alexander. James advertised in
1807 as a brass founder and continued to do so until 1810, when
he was in the custody of the sheriff. In 1811 we find him in
Savannah and by 1813 he was back in Charleston as a brass-
founder, copper-smith, and plumber. By 1817 he was back in
Savannah, where he died in 1820. The extent of his sporadic
business appears to be ship hardware and instruments.42

In 1802-1804/5 Robert Wallace was in New York City as a
brass-founder producing andirons.43 In 1806, he and a
Nathaniel Lawrence were in partnership in Charleston and
advertise that:

BRASS FOUND ARY.
WALLACE & LARWARCE
FROM New- York, respectfully notify their friends and
the public in general, that they have commenced the
above Business in all its various branches at No. 11
ELLERY STREET, next door to Mr. Mushett's
Blacksmith shop, and hope from their long experience,
to merit, by their assiduity, a share of the public
patronage. All kinds of Machinery will be executed with
fidelity and dispatch; also, shipwork, bell foundary,
brass fire-dogs, shovels and tongs of the newest fashions
and most improved patterns; all kinds of clocks, guns,
pistols cleaned and repaired on the most reasonable
terms.

N.B. The highest price given for old Copper and Brass.
Charleston Courier, S.C., 31 Dec. 1806, 3-3.

Unfortunately, there are no further advertisements of this part-
nership, which continued through the 1809 Charleston Direc-
tory. In this listing both men are at 66 Meeting Street. The 1813
Directory lists only Robert Wallace at this address and in 1816
he announced a move:

Notice.
THE subscriber has removed his Shop to the corner of

Meeting and Society streets, where he carried on the
business of a

BRASS FOUNDER,
in all its branches; he also intends carrying on the
GUNSMITH'S BUSINESS, having engaged competent
Workmen for that purpose. He returns his sincere thanks
to those persons who have favored him hitherto, and
respectfully solicits a continuance of their support.

Robert Wallace.

Times, Charleston, S. C, 14 March, 1816, 3-3.

Three years later he has moved again, to 393 King Street,
still as a brass founder, for his last listing in the Directory. The
relationship of Robert to two James Wallaces is unknown but in
1816, 108 Meeting Street had one James Wallace listed as a brass
founder with another James Wallace with no occupation given.

Indicative of the often sporadic migration of artisans is the
listing, in the 1809 Charleston Directory, of James Creswell,

John Madan, McKernon, and John Debord, all brass

founders at different addresses. The directories before and after
1809 list none of these men.

One of the last brass founders to advertise before 1820 was
Vincent Barre of 109 East Bay Street, a location next to the
warehouses and shipping interests, as reflected in his advertise-
ment:

Vincent Barre,
BRASS AND IRON FOUNDER,

LATELY arrived in this city, begs leave to acquaint the
Public, that he forms and finishes in the most complete
manner, every species of Iron Work required on board of
shipping; as also, all kinds work for Mills, &c. either
upon a large or small scale; also, Brass Work, Metal
Pumps of every description, as well as Fire Engines, on
the newest French construction; likewise he constructs
Private Baths in a new style and taste, as also Water
closets, without the least inconvenience attending them.
He hopes to merit the patronage of the citizen of
Charleston, by his attention to perform the orders given
him. Apply to No. 09, East Bay.

Courier, Charleston, S. C, 29 September, 1817, 3-2.
66

Two years later Barre is still at this address and in 1822 is listed
in the Directory at 2 Amen Street.

The business of Charleston brass founding appears to have
diminished around 1820. In 1819 William A. Goodman, of 90
Meeting Street, mentions in a footnote, at the bottom of a ven-
ture cargo sale advertisement, that he casts brass for ship and
mill work.

Robert Mills in his Statistics of South Carolina, in 1826, says
that there are ten brass founders and coppersmiths active in
Charleston.44 If this was true, and say five are brass founders,
with probably only one advertising, could this be reflective of
the eighteenth century? — probably so. If true, our neoclassical
and Empire andirons previously described probably will never
be attributed to a specific brass founder. A marked example is
needed. It would be nice to know the shop which produced the
andirons but the recognition of Charleston-made brass and
paktong andirons is reward enough.

The taste for Charleston-made andirons was not always para-
mount, as in the mideighteenth century when chimney-dogs
and coal grates were being imported from England. The English
transition to coal was well under way by this period45 and an in-
creasing number of grates were exported. Correspondingly fewer
and fewer andirons were produced in England and exported.
One of the last advertisements found for andirons imported into
Charleston was this:

Just imported in the Ship Neptune, Capt. Ambrose
Judd, from London, and to be sold by STEAD &
E VANCE, . . . iron wire griddles, — steel stove grates,
with fender, shovel, tongs and poker, — very fine pol-
ished dogs with brass heads, — steel dogs polished, — also
shovel, tongs and bellows and hearth brushes ....

South-Carolina Gazette, Charleston, 20 Aug. 1750, 2-2.

Along with the importation of English-made coal grates
throughout the eighteenth century, coal was also imported into
the nineteenth century. Two advertisements for coal are:

Choice good Coal to be sold by Joseph Shute, and
delivered at the buyer's door for Five Pounds Ten Shill-
ings per Ton, ready money.

The South Carolina Gazette, Charleston, Feb. 5, 1753

PUBLIC AUCTION.
THIS DAY, at 10 o'clock, will be sold before my store,

without reserve,

100 tons NEWCASTLE COALS

In Lots to suit purchasers, and must be taken from the

vessel as soon after the sale as they can be

delivered. — Terms — CASH.

McM. CAMPBELL (vendue master)
Newcastle Coals are said to be the best in Bri-
tain— and supply the London market.
Charleston Courier, 24 July 1804, 3-4.

In the second half of the eighteenth century with the
absence of imported andirons, Charleston braziers and brass
founders tried to fill the need, but an occasional advertisement
indicated transcoastal shipment from the North.

JUST imported, and will be sold at first cost
and charges, by
JAMES DUTHIE,
In Elliott-street, next door to Isaac Huger's, Esq; A Few
pair of CHAMBER DOGS, the handsomest that ever
were brought into this province, with large brass twisted,
plain and fluted pillars, different sizes, some of them
above two feet high, made in New York.46 A few barrels
of superfine flour, water and butter biscuit in kegs.

South-Carolina Gazette; and Country Journal,
Charleston, 1 Mar. 1768, 3-2.

This is an unusually descriptive advertisement of New York
andirons, and one reflects upon Jacob and Solomon Proby and
John Michael, who have been mentioned as being in business at
this time in Charleston. What influence did these andirons have
on their andiron designs? This question again rises when in
March of 1785 Henry Laurens wrote William Bell, Philadelphia
merchant, and asked to be sent "four pair of best Brass Fire
Dogs with suitable Shovels Tongs and Fenders if such are com-
panions to the Dogs . . . . "47 A month later Laurens notified
Bell that "the Fire Dogs Shovels and tongs are all satisfactory,
the Fenders we may speak of when Summer is wearing off. In
the meantime I may recive the opinions of the Ladies [in his
family] . . . ,"48

Again, what effect did these "best Brass Fire Dogs" have
upon society, thus forming taste and consequently affecting the
brass founder? Could these have been the andirons which cause
the neoclassical Group I to appear so Philadelphia-like in the
base? Conjecture is interesting.

In conclusion, this study has brought to light for the first
time two major groups of Charleston brass andirons. This
recognition will enable further product identification of
Charleston brass founders. It is to be hoped that marked ex-
amples will surface and allow the production of one brass found-
ry to be separated from others. It is the author's wish that this
analysis of Charleston brass founders will stimulate more
research in the field of Southern brass foundries and their
products.

Mr. Rauschenberg is Research Fellow at the Museum of Early
Southern Decorative Arts.

NOTES

1. In 1972 the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts was awarded a
grant by the National Endowment for the Humanities to photograph and
record decorative arts made in the South prior to 1821. Now, with a year
and a half left in the grant, Kentucky, tidewater Virginia, eastern North
Carolina, Georgia, and coastal South Carolina have been investigated,
with the four field researchers now in Maryland and the Valley of Virginia.

2. The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts has an ongoing program
of microfilming and reading all existing newspapers published in the
South prior to 1821. See Frank L. Horton, "The MESDA Microfilming
Program," Journal of Early Southern Decorative Arts, 1977, v. Ill, no. 1,
pp. 36-42. While this program has recorded information from the
available Charleston, S. C., newspapers on microfilm, the period from
1780-1800 is mostly not on film and therefore has not been read.

3. Henry J. Kauffman and Quentin H. Bowers, Early American Andirons
and Other Fireplace Accessories (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1974),
pp. 54 and 100. Also see Charles F. Montgomery, "Regional Preferences
and Characteristics in American Decorative Arts: 1750-1800," American
Art: 1750-1800 (Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1976), pp. 53-54.

4. The medial molding on the shaft of this pair is of the Charleston-school
neoclassical group. For a comparison of New York medial moldings see
Peter, Nancy, and Herbert Schiffer, The Brass Book (Exton: Schiffer
Publishing Co., 1978), p. 61, Figs. A, B, and D.

5. Compare the reeded head of this pair with the examples in Figure 4.

6. Grace Rogers Cooper, "Thirteen-Star Flags," Smithsonian Studies in
History and Technology, Number 21 (Washington: Smithsonian Institu-
tion Press, 1973), pp. 3-12.

7. Charles F. Montgomery and Patricia Kane, eds., American Art:
1730-1800, pp. 206-207. See also Bauman L. Belden, Indian Peace Medals
(New Milford: N. Flayderman & Co., 1966), plates 1-12.

8. These andirons and the pair in Figure 5 have a supporting member under
the billet bar. This is vestigial of earlier periods and used for strength
when the bar becomes hot during a fire. See Kauffman, op. cit., pp.
36-37, and Schiffer, op. cit., p. 64.

9. For a similar engraved basket of flowers see Schiffer, op. cit., Fig. A, p. 63.
For an example of a basket of flowers on a Federal mahogany card table, of
probable Charleston origin, see Helen Comstock, American Furniture
(New York: The Viking Press, 1962), Figure 555.

10. The spurs on this pair and examples 5-7 are identical in that the ends are
painted and do not round over as in Group I (Figures 1-3). The billet bars
of this pair do not have the drop-angle or the pyramidal log-stop, thus
they could be replacements.

11. This edition contains upwards of 350 designs on 120 copper plates, is un-
dated, and was published in London. For a discussion of this see Peter
Ward-Jackson, English Furniture Designs (London: Her Majesty's Sta-
tionery Office, 1958), pp. 51-52.

12. The billet bar on this pair is like Group I but the pyramidal log-stop is also
seen. This is a transitional example as the log-stop is small. An unusual
feature of this pair is that on the billet bar is a brass cap extending from
the rear of the shaft to the log-stop. This is not on the other examples of
the neoclassical style. For examples of this on prel800 andirons see Kauff-
man, op. «/.,pp. 102 and 108. These are straight billet bars and ca.
1795-1800. This comparison (Fig. 5c) is made between the andiron husk
or bellflower and the ivory inlaid husk or bellflower of the Holmes
secretary- bookcase (MESDA Research File S-8000). This is to illustrate the
engraving-like decoration on the furniture inlay with that on the brass ex-
ample. The furniture inlay is only one example of a school of inlay tech-
nique of scratch-work seen on several examples of Charleston furniture of
this period.

13. Though the percentages vary, tutenag is 50 parts copper, 19 parts nickel,
and 31 parts zinc.

14. In researching Paktong the author was amazed to discover how little has
been researched on this alloy. One article is Katherine Coombes and W.
D. John, "Paktong, the Unusual Material Used by Robert Adam," The
Antique Dealer and Collector' s Guide (London: The Journal Press, 1970),
June, pp. 88-90. Finished products of tutenag were being imported as the
Baltimore City Directory of 1810 lists a 17 Vi % tax on this alloy. Because
of the high tax, one assumes that the product is finished, not the raw
material. However, the raw material evidently was on the market and
could be imported, as is revealed in the Alexandria Daily Gazette, Alex-
andria, Virginia, March 14, 1811, p. 3.

INFORMATION
TO BRASS FOUNDERS.

Extract of a letter from Samuel L. Mitchell, representative in congress,
to Mr. J. Curtis, dated Washington, Feb. 19, 1811.

The petition of the Brass Founders of New York, has been con-
sidered by the committee of commerce and manufactures. The
prevalent opinion there is, that the existing law admits "zinc" or
"spelter" free from duty, under the name of brass tutenague or
tutenage. This is one of the forms in which spelter comes to market,
and is, the name by which that metal seems to be known in our
statute. If orders and invoices were made out, by this technical word,
no difficulty is apprehended of importing it, upon terms as liberal as
you wish. I hope you will value very highly this early and generous
regulation of our government, made for the purpose of facilitating
and fostering the metallic arts in our country. Be obliging enough to
inform the trade of this view of a subject which they have so much at
heart.

15. This exceptional pair have an unusually high log-stop. The engraving on
the shafts is very similar to composition work illustrated in Charles Harris
Whitaker, ed., The Octagon Library of Early American Architecture (New
York: Press of the American Institute of Architects, Inc., 1927), Vol. I
(Charleston), unnumbered pages, "Judge King's House Palladian Win-
dow." This composition work was imported from England and also made
in coastal cities like Baltimore.

16. The rare case of a silversmith running a brass foundry is Paul Revere. This
developed out of his iron foundry, which he started in 1788. In the 1790s
he was casting brass for the frigate Constitution. See Clarence S. Brigham,
Paul Revere' s Engravings (New York: Atheneum, 1969), pp. 4 and 6. See
also Henry J. Kauffman, American Copper & Brass (Camden: Thomas
Nelson & Sons, 1968), p. 175, and Martha Gandy Fales, Early American
Silver (New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1973), pp. 225 and 226.

17. Montgomery, op. cit., pp. 53 and 54.

18. This pair has an unusual horizontal member on the rear of the billet bar
which may be a later addition.

19. The pair in 8a are yellow in color and not the orange of other examples in
Group III, indicating a higher percentage of zinc than normal. The
Research Laboratory of the Henry Francis duPont Winterthur Museum
kindly examined the andirons in Figures 8a, 9, 10, and 11. An element
analysis was determined by X-ray fluorescence in the laboratory of each of
the four pairs. The results were not conclusive to say that on the basis of
composition they were from a single source. As is known, scrap brass, cop-
per, bronze, and other metal were used for foundry melts. Perhaps one
day, when enough tests are performed on American brass products, a pat-
tern will emerge, especially in the very early period of foundry develop-
ment in the colonies.

20. The andiron illustrated in 8b has engraving similar to Figure 6a. While
this pair has not been seen by the author, they appear from the
photograph to be very Fine examples.

21. This design source contains "sixty different designs .... forty of which
are Gothic, Chinese mosaic, and ornamental frets proper for friezes . . . ,
book cases, tea tables, tea stands, trays." See Ward-Jackson, op. tit., p.
47, plate 124.

22. The log-stops on this pair have ridges around the edges of the top half as if
something originally screwed on the top. However, the ridges are not
screw-like so it could be decorative as the point tapers along these ridges
and then is pyramidal.

23. The capitals on this pair and those in Figure 1 1 are steplike and peculiar to
these two pairs. When viewed from above, the shaft illustrates that a plate
had to be brazed inside the top of the shaft to support the head, because
of the omission of the tapered element.

24. The pair in Figure 1 1 must represent the cheapest andiron to be purchased
because of casting flaws on the reverse side of the shafts and even a rec-
tangular piece has been inlet, probably to eliminate a major imperfection.

25. This unusual pair was located through a query in The Magazine Antiques,
v. CXV, no. 3 (New York: Straight Enterprises), March 1979, p. 588, in
which the author illustrated one of the pair in Figure 10. This pair (Figure
12) are privately owned in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where they were
acquired in an antique store. The condition and price indicate they had
been thought of as antiques. Therefore, they probably had been in Ports-
mouth for a long time. In the last quarter of the eighteenth and first half
of the nineteenth centuries there was considerable traffic between
Charleston and New England.

26. Compare the andirons illustrated in Figure 13 to a pair in Alice R. Huger
Smith and D. E. Huger Smith, The Dwelling Houses of Charleston,
South Carolina (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1917), p. 319.

27. Kauffman, op. tit., p. 63. Also letter to author from Mr. Quentin H.
Bowers, Harrisonburg, Virginia (coauthor of Early American Andirons),
dated January 5, 1979, reveals this regression in base design, after 1800, to
snake or pad feet, similar to those found in the Queen Anne period.

28. This pair and those in Figure 14 have the drop-angle billet bar as was seen
in the neoclassical Group I. This is a return to an earlier design as men-
tioned in note 27.

29. These had one remaining log-stop finial. The vertical posts for the finial
had a threaded end. Another pair identical to these was found in
Charleston with a Philip Porcher family history (MESDA Research File
S-9100).

30. This unusual brass treatment is rare in furniture. In Philadelphia, Joseph
B. Barry & Son, and in New York, Charles-Honore Lannier both used
brass for decoration on furniture. However, this is of a more ornate
nature. The table in Figure 15, with its heavy brass usage, is unique in
America. A design source for a French table with fabric-like brass swags on
the front is illustrated in Edward T. Joy, English Furniture 1800-1851
(London: Ward Lock Limited, 1977), p. 42. This is the Weisweiler-
attributed pier table whose design source was Sheraton's Drawing Book.
(Appendix, plate 31), 1793.

31. This card table was at first thought to be from New York, but with the
discovery of the table in Figure 15 it is believed to be of Charleston origin.
These two tables are not constructed nor have columns, reeding, and
finials like New York examples. See letter from Charles F. Montgomery,
14 March 1972, about the table in Figure 17 (MESDA Research File
S-2400).

32. William Linthwaite, brazier, is first mentioned in the South Carolina
Gazette, Charleston, South Carolina, February 1, 1734/5, p. 3. On Oc-
tober 17, 1738, he was buried. South Carolina Gazette, Charleston, S. C,
November 2, 1738, p. 3. Linthwaite's wife, Eleanor, evidently remarried
as the South Carolina Gazette, Charleston, S. C, December 4, 1740, p.
3, announces that Mrs. Sandwell, the brazier, lived across from a fire. His
will leaves "shop and appurtenances" to his wife Eleanor. Wills of
Charleston County, South Carolina, v. 4, 1738-40, p. 117.

33. The Philadelphia City Directory for 1793 lists a James Robertson, 42
North Front St. The connection, if any, between James and John is not
known.

34. From 1766-69 there was a John Proby who also was a brass founder in
Charleston, living and working at the sign of the Tea-Kettle and
Candlestick. He also was a coppersmith and made ironplate. The length
of his business is not known. See South Carolina Gazette and Country
Journal, Charleston, S. C, July 1, 1766, p. 2; also, December 5, 1769, p.

35. South Carolina Gazette and Country Journal, Charleston, S. C, January
14, 1722, p. 2.

36. See South Carolina Gazette, Charleston, S. C, December 24, 1772, p. 1,
for a very similar advertisement.

37. South Carolina and American General Gazette, Charleston, S. C, August
5, 1774, p. 1, and South Carolina Gazette, Charleston, S. C, January 5,
1775, p. 1.

38. Ibid., April 10, 1777, p. 1.

39. The brass foundry of Alexander McCliesh is of particular interest as it was
in operation, at least, during Group III of the neoclassical andirons
discussed earlier. After McCliesh died his estate was settled and his house
of 9 Saint Phillips Street was advertised for sale. See Charleston Courier,
Charleston, South Carolina, August 15, 1809, p. 3. This house at 9 Saint
Phillips Street was listed as his residence, and his foundry was at 56
Meeting Street. See Charleston City Directory from 1802 through 1807. A
little over a vear later a notice in the Times, Charleston, South Carolina,
November 8, 1810, p. 2, offers a house, furniture, and a Negro man for
sale, located at 4 Quince Street, as belonging to the estate of Alexander
McCliesh. Of interest is that the Negro man was "about 40 years old [and]
an excellent Brass Founder." The house of 9 St. Phillips Street was still for
sale in this notice.

40. Charleston City Directory 1797; also, Carolina Gazette, Charleston, S. C,
October 31, 1799, p. 4, and November 14, 1799, p. 3.

41. A check of Buchanan's will located in Record of Wills Charleston County,
South Carolina, v. 36, Book A, 1818-1826, p. 717, failed to reveal the
foundry.

42. From the newspaper accounts James McCliesh had an active and troubled
life after he apparently inherited his father's brass foundry. {Charleston
Courier, Charleston, S. C, February 7, 1809, p. 3). He married Miss Mary
Guy {Charleston Courier, Charleston, S. C, July 14, 1808, p. 3), was in
custody of the sheriff of Charleston (Times, Charleston, S. C, August 14,
1810, p. 3), then moved to Savannah, Georgia, October 22, 1811, p. 3).
Later he returned to Charleston and married Miss Ann Williams {Times,
Charleston, S. C, March 29, 1813, p. 3), again operates his brass foundry,
and then leaves for Savannah again {Columbian Museum & Savannah
Daily Gazette, Georgia, August 14, 1817, p. 1) and died (The Daily
Georgian, Savannah, April 11, 1820, p. 3).

43- The New York listing for Robert Wallace is from Kauffman, op. cit., p.
69, where he is included in a list of known brass andiron makers. The
author, in a telephone conversation with Quentin Bowers in March, 1979,
learned that Bowers had seen a pair of andirons marked "Robert
Wallace." The present whereabouts of these are now unknown. The New
York City Directory lists a Robert Wallace from 1802 through 1804/05 as
brassfounder at "18 Cherry [Street?]." The 1805 New York City Direc-
tory does not list Wallace. The 1802 Directory lists an Andrew Wallace as
a brassfounder also at 18 Cherry; the relationship is unknown. Nathaniel
Lawrence, a partner with Robert Wallace in Charleston, is not listed as a
brassfounder in New York. The design of these andirons is unknown; if
found they would aid in the further identification of the Charleston
school.

44. Robert Mills, Statistics of South Carolina (Charleston: Hurlbut and Lloyd,
1826), p. 427.

45. L. A. Shuffrey, The English Fireplace (London: B. T. Batsford, 1912), pp.
149-154, 201-216.

46. A remarkable pair of andirons matching this description were found near
Charleston and could well be the same pair. MESDA Research File S-9120
illustrates these; the shafts are vase-shaped, fluted, and twisted.

47. "Letters from Henry Laurens to William Bell of Philadelphia," The South
Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine (Baltimore: William &
Wilkins Company, 1923), pp. 2 and 3, letter dated March 12, 1785, from
Charleston.

48. "Letters," op. cit., pp. 4-5, letter from "Mempkin Plantation, 30 miles
from Charleston, 23rd April 1785."

Acknowledgment for assistance in preparing this article is ex-
tended to:

Miss Sarah Lytle, Director
Middleton Place Foundation
Charleston, South Carolina

Miss Janice H. Carlson

Museum Chemist, Research Laboratory

The Henry Francis duPont Winterthur Museum

Winterthur, Delaware

Mr. Morrison H. Heckscher, Curator
Department of American Decorative Arts
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mr. Charles F. Hummel, Curator

The Henry Francis duPont Winterthur Museum

Winterthur, Delaware

Mr. Quentin Bowers
Harrisonburg, Virginia

Mr. Gerard Mabille, Conservator
Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, France
Dr. O. ter Kuile, Curator
Ryksmuseum, Amsterdam
Mr. Phillippe Boucaud, Paris, France

Miss Christina Nelson, Curator of Ceramics and Glass

The Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum

Miss A. G Somers Cocks, Assistant Keeper

Department of Metalwork,

Victorian and Albert Museum, London, England

Mr. Christopher Gilbert, Principal Keeper

Temple Newsam House, Leeds, England

Mrs. Rupert Gentle
Wiltshire, England

Mr. Joe Kindig 111

York, Pennsylvania

Mr. John D. Davis

Curator of Metals

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Mr. Benno M. Foreman

Research Fellow and Teaching Associate

The Henry Francis duPont Winterthur Museum

Mr. Michael Dunbar

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Mrs. E. F. Moore

Burlington, North Carolina

Mr. Gene Wadell, Director

South Carolina Historical Society

Charleston, South Carolina

Henry J. Kauffman
Lancaster, Pennsylvania

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Mrs. Warren H. Channel
Ms. Vicki L. Clements
Mr. Patrick Cloninger
Mrs. Raymond C. Coe

Dr. Robert P. Coggins
Ms. Cecelia Conway
Mrs. J. Russell Cook
Mrs. G. Dallas Coons
Mrs. Anne M. Coulbourn
Mrs. John T. Council
Mr. D. Price Coursey, Jr.
Mrs. R. Wells Covington
Mr. Tommy Cranford
Ms. Katherine E. Cravens
Mr. Raymond G. Crumpler
Mrs. Thomas W. Currey
Mr. Phillip H. Curtis
Mrs. Robert Harris Daniel
Mrs. Frank B. Daniels, III
Mrs. E. Ervin Dargan
Mrs. Betty B. Davis
Miss Ann W. Dibble
Mr. Frank P. Dickinson
Mr. Patric C. Dorsey
Mrs. Walter Dowling
Mr. Paul Allen Dunbar, Jr.
Mrs. Frank Edward Dunn
Mrs. Constance H. Easton
Ms. Joyce Eddy
Mrs. Arnold B. Edgerton
Mrs. James B. Edwards
Ms. Anne Eller
Mrs. Margaret W. Emerson
Mrs. Jo Luther England
Mr. Jack T. Ericson
Mrs. Nancy Goyne Evans
Mr. Larry Gray Fair
Mrs. Gale J. Farlow
Mrs. C. H. Farnham
Mr. James A. Fitch
Mr. Michael G. Fitch
Mrs. June G. Fitzgerald
Ms. Debrajean Force
Mrs. Jerry W. Ford
Mr. Benno M. Forman
Ms. Rebecca Talbert Fouche'
Mrs. James S. Gant
Mrs. Muscoe Garnett
Mrs. James N. Garrett, Jr.
Mrs. Noel E. Garvin
Ms. Eleanor W. Gee
Mrs. David L. Genter

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS (continued)

Mr. E. Alvin Gerhardt, Jr.

Mrs. Vivian S. Gerstell

Dr. Frederick D. Gillespie

Mrs. Charles T. Glenn

Mrs. Ronald Goldman

Dr. Jean Gordon

Mrs. Martha Gravely

Mr. Holcombe T. Green, Jr.

Mr. Barry A. Greenlaw

Ms. Ann E. Gresham

Mr. Lindsay C. Grigsby

Ms. Cynthia E. Gubernick

Mrs. W. Gettys Guille

Mrs. Melvie G. Haas

Mr. Homer H. Haisten

Mr. Roger W. Hall

Miss Frances Gascoyne Hanahan

Mrs. Hal L. Hancock

Mrs. Elaine T. Handy

Mrs. Joseph E. Hardee

Miss Patricia W. Harper

Mrs. Margaret W. Hauser

Mrs. Lloyd E. Hawes

Mrs. Davison B. Hawthorne

Mrs. H. C. Hawthorne

Mr. Edgar B. Heflin, Jr.

Ms. Madelyn Hereford

Mrs. John S. Heuss

Mrs. Kenneth R. Higgins

Mrs. C. Roger Hill

Mrs. Jan McArthur

Mrs. Thomas B. Hooker

Mrs. Robert Hopper

Mr. Bryan Link Hunt

Mrs. Benjamin R. Huske, III

Mrs. Peggy W. Idol

Mrs. Mary I. Ingram

Mrs. Howard S. Irvin

Mr. William Ivey

Mrs. John Early Jackson

Mrs. Samuel S. Jackson

Ms. Verajelinek

Mrs. Pat H. Johnston

Ms. Conover Hunt Jones

Dr. H. G. Jones

Mr. T. Ruben Jones

Mr. George H. Judd, Jr.

Mr. WalterJ. Kachelski

Miss Betsy Kent

Mrs. A. Paul Kitchin

Mr. Ralph Kovel

Ms. Mary Anne Lakatos

Mr. Hugh S. Larew

Mrs. B. J. Lawrence

Miss Carol Lawrence

Ms. M. A. Leight

Ms. Linda Jo Little

Mrs. Albert C. Littlejohn

Mr. Joseph D. Logan, III

Dr. James M. Love

Mrs. John D. Love

Mrs. J. Roberson Luper

Miss Sara McCorkle

Mr. Dawes T. McCracken, Jr.

Ms. Eleanor M. McFadden

Miss Milly McGehee

Mr. DeCourcy E. Mcintosh

Dr. William W. McLendon

Mr. Francis McNairy

Mrs. W.J. L. McNeary

Mrs. George K. Mack

Ms. Kathy W. Manning

Mrs. Joseph L. Marshall

Dr. C. Robert Martin

Mr. Orren R. Mason

Mrs. Thomas K. Massey

Mrs. H. M. Massie

Mrs. Dwight L. Matthews

Mr. Ronald Meeks

Mr. Richard Meyer, III

Mr. William F. Miller

Mrs. D. C. Monroe

Mrs. H. L. Moody

Miss Elizabeth Vann Moore

Mrs. H. Gordon Moore, Jr.

Mr. William J. Moore

Mrs. Jeane J. Morris

Mrs. George L. Munford

Mr. William Murphy

Mrs. John Gordon Myers

Mrs. Joseph J. Nannarello

Mr. John L. Nash

Mrs. Charles E. Nesbitt

Ms. Katherine H. Nunez

Mrs. R. S. O'Connell

Mrs. Charles Oldham

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS (continued)

Mr. Ray C. Olivier

Ms. Katherine B. Parson

Mr. Eldridge Pendleton

Mr. Hiram Perkinson, III

Mrs. Graydon O. Pleasants

Mr. Edgar N. Plott

Dr. Jessie J. Poesch

Mrs. William B. Pollard

Mrs. Rosa Little Porter

Miss Edith Culpepper Potter

Ms. Catherine L. Pressler

Major Henry T. Pulliam

Mrs. William L. Putney, Jr.

Mrs. David S. Ramey

Ms. Deloris S. Ranhofer

Mrs. Robert L. Remke

Ms. Jewel Renfroe

Mrs. Richard S. Reynolds, Jr.

Mrs. J. Mott Robertson, Jr.

Mrs. Jean B. Robinson

Ms. Catherine A. Rodgers

Mrs. Lawrence B. Romaine

Mrs. Mitzi Roper

Mrs. Charles Rutherford

Mrs. Thomas E. Salters

Mr. James Saul

Mr. J. Thomas Savage, Jr.

Mr. Elmer W. Sawyer, Jr.

Mr. Gray Sawyer

Mr. Herbert Schiffer

Mrs. William Schnorbach

Mr. Robert D. Schwarz

Mr. Stuart C. Schwartz

Mr. Warren W. Seal

Mrs. William M. Shaw

Ms. Martha Doughton Sheaff

Ms. Jane K. Shearer

Ms. Madeline Shepherd

Mr. Lewis B. Shrady

Mr. Charles B. Simmons

Mrs. Sam Singer, Sr.

Mrs. Carter Smith

Mrs. Charles Homer Smith

Ms. Clare P. Smith

Mrs. George D. Smith

Mr. Howard Smith

Mr. John J. Snyder, Jr.

Mr. Charles C. Souder

Dr. Lawrence E. Southworth

Mrs. Stewart V. Spragins

Ms. Carol L. Staley

Mr. Randy Steed

Mrs. R. W. Sterrett

Mrs. Eugene O. S. Stevenson

Mrs. G. Richard Stonesifer

Mrs. William Robert Story

Dr. William E. Strole, Jr.

Mr. Sam Stuffle

Mr. John A. H. Sweeney

Mrs. Cabell Mayo Tabb

Mr. Daniel B. Tankersley

Ms. Susan Tate

Mrs. Ann F. Thorne

Mrs. Thomas G. Thurston, III

Mrs. Nancy H. Tomberlin

Mr. J. Ives Townsend

Mr. Donald R. Taylor

Mrs. Marilyn Tubinis

Mrs. Bert S. Turner

Mrs. Frederick B. Tuttle

Mr. John Edward Tyler

Mrs. C. Braxton Valentine

Mr. Milton B. Waff

Mr. William R. Wallace, Jr.

Mr. Charles H. Waters

Mrs. J. Marshall Watkins

Dr. Robert J. Watson

Mrs. B. F. Weaver

Miss Carolyn J. Weekley

Mr. C. Robert Welch, Jr.

Mrs. Henry Wetter

Mr. Mac Whatley

Mrs. Alma Whitman

Mrs. Morgan Whitney

Mr. W. L. Whitwell

Mr. James H. Willcox, Jr.

Mr. Ben F. Williams

Dr. G. Fraser Wilson

Mrs. John Snowden Wilson

Miss Nancy Brantley Wilson

Miss Alice Winchester

Dr. J. F. Wine

Mrs. Robert W. Winston

Dr. W. R. WoodalLJr.

Mrs. Edward F. Wooten

Mrs. John H. Wright, Jr.

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS (continued)

Mrs. Luke Wright
Mrs. Wesley Wright, Jr.
Mr. David E. Zeitlin
Dr. Charles G. Zug, III

Back issues of The Journal
are available.

Photographs in this issue by Bradford L. Rauschenberg, the Museum
of Early Southern Decorative Arts, except where noted.

MUSEUM OF EARLY SOUTHERN DECORATIVE ARTS

Frank L. Horton, Director

Miss Bryding Adams, Assistant to the Director

Bradford L. Rauschenberg, Research Fellow

Mrs. Sally Gant, Educational Coordinator

Mrs. William L. Putney, Jr., Associate in Education

Mrs. Shelby Hill, Secretary / 'Receptionist

FIELD RESEARCHERS

Miss Jane Webb Smith
Route l,Box 162 A
Easton, Maryland 21601

Miss Mary Witten Neal
199 Baughman's Lane
Frederick, Maryland 21701

Miss Debbie Miller
7840 E Bruton Drive
Glen Burnie, Maryland 21061

Miss Olivia Alison
Route 5, Box 85
Lexington, Virginia 24450

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